


A Weighted Grief

by luvsanime02



Series: When the Wind Blows [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Comfort/Angst, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) - Freeform, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Not Epilogue Compliant, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-03-09
Packaged: 2018-05-25 18:31:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6205960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvsanime02/pseuds/luvsanime02
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke comes back and learns what happened.</p><p>Sixth in my When the Wind Blows series, and set right after A Piercing Loss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Weighted Grief

**Author's Note:**

> Again, this is the last part in the series. There will never be a resolution to what happened besides what you see here. Please read the tags and proceed with caution.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. I'm making no profit off of this story.

########

 **A Weighted Grief**  by luvsanime02

########

Of all the people they could have chosen to be Sasuke's guard on these obligatory trips, he still wasn’t sure if he’d lucked out or not. Hyuuga Hinata was mild-mannered, confident, and a competent kunoichi. All things considered, it could have been much, much worse. If anything, Hinata was unlikely to get offended when Sasuke didn't talk much during a journey.

He also suspected, though he certainly wasn't close enough to the current head of Hyuuga to ask, that Hinata was being similarly pressured by her own council to find a suitable match and produce offspring herself, and therefore empathized with Sasuke's plight. Of course, this brought to Sasuke's mind what actually bothered him about traveling alone with the Hyuuga heiress. He wasn't entirely sure that her being posted as his 'guide' wasn't simply another matchmaking attempt.

That, and the fact that however sympathetic she was, Sasuke still had the feeling that she thought the whole exercise was amusing, watching perfectly coifed and charming young ladies act shy and demure around him, as though he was going to be drawn in by their weakness, rather than annoyed. These trips were a waste of time. Sasuke knew this, Hyuuga Hinata certainly knew this, and the Hokage’s council knew this too, however much they wished to ignore the truth.

This time, though, Sasuke was in a fouler mood than usual, and he was currently doing his best to pretend that Hyuuga Hinata did not exist. Not that she seemed to blame him for his curtness. In fact, he hadn't seen one sidelong glance his way yet, and they were nearly back in Konoha after a week away. She hadn't made one mention about their swift journey back, either. Not that their speed had made much of a difference. They were still arriving back the day they'd been scheduled to, even if it was a few hours early.

No, Sasuke had no doubt that Hinata was well-aware of just how furious he really was, and simply didn't feel the need to aggravate him further by asking pointless questions. Even thinking once again about the timing of this summons caused his hand to involuntarily clench, and he had to expend considerable effort not to activate his Sharingan.

########

When he'd returned, when Naruto had dragged him back to Konoha (or rather, when Sasuke had voluntarily walked through the gates), Sasuke had been prepared to be shunned. Actually, he'd been prepared for the possibility of being tortured and executed for his crimes after they’d harvested his Sharingan, but he'd been spoken for by Gaara, of all people. The young Kazekage had stood in front of his equals and quietly but clearly informed the other kage that, if Sasuke had returned of his own will and he was indeed partly responsible for Uchiha Madara's plans not succeeding, then the Kazekage would leave Sasuke's fate in Naruto's hands. Even more surprising had been the Raikage, who had barely spared the energy to send him a contemptuous glance before announcing that Sasuke was Konoha's problem, and that he wished Tsunade Hokage-sama good luck with him.

There had still been a debate amongst the Konoha council, of course.

Stating that Sasuke was the last descendent of an incredibly powerful kekkei genkai had been a truth they couldn’t ignore, though they’d tried. Some had debated that the Sharingan was best lost forever, but the clan heads were unanimous that Sasuke should be locked up, if at all, for his actions, not his heritage. The argument hadn't lasted long after that. Naruto, who had been present but silent at Kakashi’s side, both of them standing next to the Hokage, had looked about ready to attack a few of them more than once, but had impressively managed to hold onto his temper.

In the end, Sasuke had been officially declared no longer a traitor. He was certain that Danzo Shimura being the one to instate him on the list of nuke-nin to begin with had something to do with it, even though everyone attending the meeting had been careful not to mention his name out loud. Of course, immediately after deciding that, the council had called another meeting to discuss his parole conditions. Sasuke still had no idea what exactly had been said during that meeting, because he had been personally herded by Kakashi into a different room and left to wait for their decision.

The conditions they’d set down had been expected, mostly. Sasuke had been forbidden from taking anything higher than a D-rank mission for Konoha until further notice. He'd also been told that his movements would be constantly monitored by several ANBU for the foreseeable future.

He'd expected that, even if Naruto and Sakura had, as his teammates, argued against the mission restrictions. Tempers had flown when the council had acerbically pointed out that, in Naruto's case, as he was also still technically a genin and with the Kyuubi’s powers asleep, he was being restricted to D-rank missions as well. As such, he had no reason to argue about Sasuke's predicament.

The council’s remarks to Sakura, that she was a chuunin and therefore no longer part of a genin team, had resulted in two smashed chairs and a cracked table. She had then calmly pointed out all of the reasons why she should still be their official team member, from being one of the only people who knew them both well enough that she would be able to keep an eye on them, to the fact that, if the council didn't let her, she'd go out on missions with them anyways. The Hokage herself, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers, had agreed with this, and had told the council to  _shut up_  because  _she_  was Hokage, and as the leader of the village, she was perfectly capable of deciding a three-man team by herself.

It had been their last demand, however, that had completely thrown Sasuke. The council had decreed, seeing as how much of the reason why they had not executed him on the spot had to do with him being the last Uchiha, that Sasuke would meet regularly with certain eligible women in the future, at their request, in order to find a suitable match.

Sasuke had, noticing that both of his teammates were temporarily struck mute in disbelief, stated flatly into the silence that he'd rather be executed than whored out to random villagers. A particularly sour-looking old woman had been the one to clarify that by 'meet regularly' they meant that he would attend formal introductions, set up by the council, with ladies of sufficient standing to be the next Lady Uchiha.

The Hokage had been quick to input that Sasuke was under no obligation to ever choose any of these women to marry, but that as the last Uchiha, the council felt that he had a duty to rebuild his clan. She had looked irritated on his behalf, but she had also stated bluntly that Sasuke didn't really have a choice in accepting this condition.

Sasuke was sure that he would have appreciated Naruto and Sakura’s continued stunned silence more at the time if he hadn’t been trying to stop himself from setting a few members of the council on fire.

########

Now, it was almost four years later, and Sasuke was never going to accept any of the council's choices, had even directly told them _why_  he would never accept a bride of their choosing, but this did nothing to stop them from arranging introduction after pointless introduction. They were irritating, and a waste of time that could be better spent training or going on worthwhile missions - their team had been allowed to accept A-ranks for a year now, and he and Naruto had made chuunin six months ago, having finally been allowed to retake the test – instead of meeting with elegant young ladies who giggled softly behind fans and wore perfumes that usually stung the insides of Sasuke's nose.

This time, though, Sasuke was more than simply annoyed. The council’s timing really couldn't have been more deliberately disruptive. Sakura was only thirty weeks along, but Sasuke had an actual long-term mission that he was supposed to depart on almost as soon as he returned to Konoha. No matter if the baby was an Uchiha or an Uzumaki, Sasuke really didn't want to miss his first child being born.

The thought made him run faster, and the two of them sped through Konoha's main gates a few minutes later. Hinata then turned to him, the first time they'd spoken that day. "I'll report to Hokage-sama, Sasuke-san. I'm sure she can wait to hear from you until tomorrow."

Sasuke thought about her offer for a few seconds, but almost immediately shook his head in the negative. "I'd rather get it over with," he explained, after seeing her slightly-surprised look. He didn't offer her thanks, but he waited until she nodded before starting towards the Hokage Tower at a normal pace. Hinata was smart enough to interpret his peace offering correctly, and they started walking through the streets together.

It was Hinata who stopped first. Sasuke had been busy putting together his report in his head, trying to think of something more succinct than “Not acceptable”. Knowing the Hokage, she'd probably appreciate the effort.

Sasuke looked at Hinata out of the corner of his eye when she paused, then turned to face her fully after seeing her worried expression. "Sasuke-san, does that look odd to you?" she asked.

He turned towards the direction she was looking in. At first, he couldn't understand what she meant. There were no obvious signs of a battle or commotion over there. Then he saw it. There were too many people walking towards them, away from something else. No one was running, but every face looked disturbed, distraught, and people were whispering to each other. Nodding his head vaguely, Sasuke took off in that direction, Hinata by his side.

They came upon a jounin Sasuke wasn't familiar with using a water jutsu to wash away the last remnants of blood from the street. Some civilian villagers were still milling around the site, murmuring in the background, but there were other ninja efficiently removing them from the area. Sasuke looked at the jounin’s face, and for the first time in years, a flash of something like terror ran through him. He hadn't seen someone look like that since he'd seen his own eyes in a mirror the day after his family was slaughtered.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked. His voice came out tight.

The jounin looked over, saw Sasuke, and his face abruptly drained of what little color was left in it. His jutsu failed, his concentration obviously broken, and Sasuke saw fear in his expression. Even worse, underneath that was pity. "Kou-san?" Hinata questioned, and Sasuke vaguely registered that the jounin was, in fact, one of the many Hyuuga. If possible, the jounin looked even more distraught at seeing Hinata there as well.

Still, his gaze stayed on her for barely a second before his attention flicked back to Sasuke. Another look into the man's eyes and Sasuke was moving before he thought not to, over buildings and through alleyways, running as fast as he could to Konoha Hospital. Even as he was running, Sasuke knew, with a dread he'd felt only once before on the worst day of his life, that he was already too late to stop whatever had happened to his family.

########

Sasuke found Naruto alone in a waiting room, hunched forward with his arms wrapped tightly around his legs and his head buried in his knees. His whole body was shaking, subconsciously rocking back and forth on the seat, but what hurt Sasuke the most was the sound of him crying. Sasuke had never heard Naruto make those sort of noises before, but he recognized them all the same.

Down on his knees on the hospital floor, Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and pulled him forward, until his head was against Sasuke's chest. It took less than a second for Naruto's hands to switch from clutching his legs to grabbing onto Sasuke's shirt. He continued crying, loud sobs that shook them both, and Sasuke was so very afraid of whatever had hurt Naruto this badly. He grabbed a fistful of Naruto's hair with his right hand while he wrapped what was left of his other arm around Naruto's back.

It took several minutes before Sasuke understood that Naruto was speaking through his sobs, an endless litany of gasps. "I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't-"

Sasuke pressed his nose into Naruto's hair. He smelled blood. There was some sticking to the front of Naruto's clothes. Sasuke said nothing. Maybe if he said nothing, maybe if he didn't see anything, didn't ask, this time it could not be true. Maybe this time his family was still safe and whole. His hand tightened enough in Naruto's hair that he choked and stopped crying long enough to take in a short, sharp breath.

Then he spoke. "Sakura-chan's being operated on. She'll live, but they're still trying to repair the-" Naruto was talking in a whisper. Sasuke almost couldn’t hear what he was saying over the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. "-trying to repair all the damage." Still, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to speak, couldn't ask.

"She was attacked," Naruto continued, still crying, still shaking, and still far, far braver than Sasuke could ever hope to be. "Sakura-chan was- He attacked her, and she-  _She's_  gone." Sasuke had to slide back on his heels as Naruto’s weight slid forward, collapsing on top of him, hands now loose and dangling beside Sasuke's legs, as though he'd been cut loose from invisible threads. The shaking grew worse.

"She's gone, and she was going to- She was- She's gone, and she never even got to- never even got to  _breathe_ , and she's gone, and it  _hurts_." Naruto was keening. No, Naruto couldn't be, because he was crying into Sasuke's shoulder, hands now grasping Sasuke's sides. Sasuke was the one keening, because he’d suddenly realized that Naruto wasn't talking about Sakura anymore.

She. They'd had a daughter, and someone had killed her before she’d even been born.

Rage.  _Fury._ Sasuke had almost forgotten what this felt like, the hatred burning away all other thoughts and emotions, until nothing was left but revenge, revenge,  _revenge_ , and he would  _kill_  whoever did this. He would kill-

"Who?" he asked, and his voice was colder than ice, deeper than a bottomless crack in the ocean floor and just as impossible to fathom.

"It doesn't-" Naruto said, pausing to shiver at the sound of Sasuke’s voice. He didn't care. "Sasuke, it doesn't- Sakura-chan already- He's _dead_. He's dead, and what does it matter? What does it- It can't- It can't bring her back, so what does it  _matter_?"

Fresh cries, though softer than before. Sasuke couldn't handle this. If her murderer was already dead, if Sakura had already killed him and was now being operated on, if Sasuke didn't have his daughter because someone  _took her from him_ , then what did it matter? Did anything matter?

Yes. Sasuke’s whole body was shaking from a grief not yet his own, weighing him down in this moment. His hand was fisted so tightly in blond hair that his knuckles were white. Fingers were digging into his ribs, leaving bruises. There was snot and blood smeared all over his clothes.

"It's not your fault," he said, and Naruto sobbed harder. "It's not your fault for not being there." Sasuke didn't know which one of them he was talking to now, but he said it anyway, over and over.

He didn't know how long they sat there before Naruto grew quiet.

It took even longer for Sasuke to loosen his grip on Naruto's hair, though he didn't let go completely. He'd stopped talking. There wasn't anything left to say. Eventually, Naruto's arms reached around to encircle Sasuke. He felt Naruto draw in a wet, deep, shuddering breath against his neck.

"Sakura-chan named her Rei."

Sasuke felt his heart break. His vision went blurry and his throat closed up. He remembered when he’d told Sakura about that memory. Of his mother, Mikoto, sitting at the kitchen table and gently teasing him.  _"You were such a pretty baby that everyone thought you were a girl, you know. I was tempted to change your name to Rei-chan."_

He cried. Sasuke sat on the floor of that waiting room, clung to Naruto, and finally gave into his grief.


End file.
